‘God is with us:’ Texas toddler who got lost in woods back home with mom

GRIMES COUNTY, Texas (KWTX) - Deputies with the Grimes County Sheriff’s Office on Monday escorted Christopher Ramirez, 3, back home after he was released from a children’s hospital following a three-day odyssey in the woods.

Araceli Nuñez, the boy’s mother, greeted reporters and community members outside her home shortly after they arrived from the hospital.

“This is an example that God exists, that God is with us,” Nuñez said as she held her boy. The mother thanked “all those who helped us find him, those who prayed with us.”

“Thanks to these angels, our law enforcement officers and volunteers. I have no means to pay you, but God will pay you back some day,” she added.

The boy was missing nearly four days in the woods after he disappeared the afternoon of Wednesday, October 6. The boy, his mother and grandmother had reportedly just arrived home in the 10000 block of Deer Park Circle, east of FM 1774 in rural Grimes County.

The mother and grandmother, who own and operate a food truck, were reportedly unloading items when Christopher followed a dog into the woods at about 1 p.m. that day. The dog returned from the woods, but the boy was nowhere to be found.

At the time of the disappearance, the mother said the boy disappeared within the span of a couple of minutes and she immediately ran into the woods to look for him.

A four-day search involving multiple law enforcement agencies and dozens of volunteers followed until a man found the boy Saturday morning.

“He was in the right place at the right time,” said Grimes County Sheriff Donald G. Sowell about the man who found the boy, “I think he (Christopher) had a guardian angel standing over him the entire time.”

“I cannot put into words what I felt when I saw my son again and held him in my arms. It was incredible. I just wanted to grab him and hug him,” said Nuñez.

When asked by a reporter if she would be more careful with her son moving forward, Nuñez said, “I know I am a good mother. (He disappeared) in less than two minutes. It can happen to any parent.”

Sheriff Sowell said the investigation is ongoing.